When a junior female reporter stumbles onto the story of a lifetime (a cult of blood-drinkers is stalking the poor of the city) she finds herself the target of killers. Saved by a vagrant, she determines to save him in return, not realising he is an ex-enforcer for a now disbanded vampire gang. When he learns of the story she is pursuing he tries to dissuade her but she will not be put off and he soon finds himself dragged back into a turf war he became an outcast to escape.
As if being hunted by rival vampire gangs isn’t enough, the two soon find themselves drawn into a cult dedicated to the peaceful co-existence of vampires and humans. But while the cult espouses peace, its methods are anything but peaceful and the pair is in more danger than either of them realise. Soon he is forced to do the unthinkable in order to save her life once more and she must summon the courage to cope with her fate and the compassion to forgive him.
This is the second story set in the paranormal underworld of 1920s New York. It picks up some months after the events of Chasing Midnight but can easily be read as a stand alone novel.
I really enjoy this particular time period and Krinard uses it to great effect in this series bringing the criminal and the supernatural underworld together seamlessly. This story offers plenty of plot twists and while some are easily anticipated, others come as a surprise. Certainly the shifting allegiances and double crossing keeps both the reader and the main characters guessing as to who is and who isn’t on their side. It was a pleasant change to find that there were no clear cut ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guys but simply a choice between a greater and lesser evil for the individual involved. It was a level of realism that brought the fantasy world to life.
I have had both positive and negative experiences with this author in the past so wasn’t really sure of what I could expect from this novel. I needn’t have worried. It was a return to the vivid world building, rounded characterization and fast paced action that drew me to her work in the first place. I’ll definitely be following on with this series.-Lynn
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